Having problems deciding whether to press that resignation button....

Albermarle

marlot said:

Albermarle said:

It is very tempting to stay on for one more year as you get a year's extra savings and one year's less spending to worry about.

Or two more years , or even three .....

Although staying on longer than really necessary , is kind of frowned upon by some posters , it does mean you can maybe retire with a big cushion and not really have to worry too much about money at all .

I decided that it wasn't the number of years of retirement that I wanted to optimise, but rather the number of good-health years.

So I went at 55.

It is a personal decision. If someone is OK with their job, then 55 may feel too early, and cause mental health problems .
Many Senior people , like CEO's , politicians etc only seem to be getting in their stride at 55.

uss_tish

@mat1964 congratulations! You’ve taken the hardest step now you have the fun part of planning the start of your new liberated life. 

I am retired 2 months and have not a single regret. I’ve returned to work a couple of times to return devices and have lunch with friends and it just all seems so miserable and the same old issues my colleagues are still dealing with. I am so relieved to be off that merry-go-round

barnstar2077

Albermarle said:

marlot said:

Albermarle said:

It is very tempting to stay on for one more year as you get a year's extra savings and one year's less spending to worry about.

Or two more years , or even three .....

Although staying on longer than really necessary , is kind of frowned upon by some posters , it does mean you can maybe retire with a big cushion and not really have to worry too much about money at all .

I decided that it wasn't the number of years of retirement that I wanted to optimise, but rather the number of good-health years.

So I went at 55.

It is a personal decision. If someone is OK with their job, then 55 may feel too early, and cause mental health problems .
Many Senior people , like CEO's , politicians etc only seem to be getting in their stride at 55.

It could be that what they would miss would be the power, not the job itself.  Perhaps they realise, deep down, that people wouldn't give them the time of day if they left their positions, and like the fact that people have to suck up to them at work.  And yes, I am pretty cynical and bitter! :  )

Langtang

We both resigned out respective jobs last month, at the age of 58, and will finish up in time to enjoy the festivities without the worry of "heading back" to work afterwards.

I've worked shifts for the last 30 years. Fairly low paid work. Between 48 (min) and 84 (max) hours per week. Early (very early) starts - 03:45 alarm call! No praise whatsoever ("You're only as good as your last mistake")

I honestly can't, at the moment, say that I'm going to miss anything about work (would you miss any of the above?)

DW on the other hand really enjoys her work, but it is stressful in its own way. She knows she's doing the right thing, but will miss the work/colleagues.

Neither of us have ever not worked (I had a late-life "gap year") so it will be interesting to see how it works out.

As my tag line says "It'll be alright in the end. If it's not alright, it's not the end"

mat1964

Dazza1902 said:

No brained. You've got 30 k in state and dB pensions at 67.
What's your plan until state pension age ? Part time work, or just drawdown 20 k a year from your DC?
I have similar figures at 67 to you, in 3 yrs time I hope to have 280k + in DC and would happily retire/semi retire as dB pensions start to kick in.

.

 I've now brought forward R day to Tuesday 30 November, so I will finish end of May next year.

I'm intending to do some contract work if I can, with the intention if possible to live on that income and savings for 2 years until I turn 60.  

I've promised the Mrs though that instead of working 10 hour days as I do now, we'll have lots of time to explore our new surroundings.  We recently moved house to a new area and she's already retired and feels a bit isolated in a new place with me working all hours.  That's why I've brought forward the date again.  I think I've made the right decision.

SouthCoastBoy

Congratulations. Enjoy your retirement 

SMcGill

 I think I've made the right decision.

I hope you find, as I did, that actually saying it out loud feels brilliant. It’s the moment you really know it’s the right thing to do. 

german_keeper

SouthCoastBoy said:

I have slipped into n more years syndrome, as all my pension is based on savings and dc pension I am at the vagaries of the stock market, and being a fairly anxious person, I just dont have the confidence to go. If I had access to a db pension I think that would have given me more confidence, unfortunately I dont so think I will be going to at least 60

My mate's partner works as a job coach for DWP. During lockdown working from home she showed him loads of job vacancies. maybe just 10 or 12 hours a week paying minimum wage or not much more. He had a heart attack in March and has been off sick since. He has done his sums and he reckons he should be ok so he retired 3 Nov. If things get a bit tight in future he will just have a look at one of these jobs, maybe just a year or two to tide him over.  

cfw1994

SouthCoastBoy said:

I have slipped into n more years syndrome, as all my pension is based on savings and dc pension I am at the vagaries of the stock market, and being a fairly anxious person, I just dont have the confidence to go. If I had access to a db pension I think that would have given me more confidence, unfortunately I dont so think I will be going to at least 60

That old OMY Syndrome is a very real challenge/puzzle 👀
  
We are luck to have 3 *small* DB pensions that kick in over the next 1/3/8 years, but they are not the bulk of our income. 
We also have a 'likely' inheritance at some point (which we haven't included in our number/expectations) which could provide some buffer at some point in the next 1-10 years (or so...).  The main chunk of that will likely be passed on down, so no chickens counted here.

Everyone has their own circumstances to consider, and their own aspirations for the years ahead of them.
My only suggestion would be to try to live off YOUR 'Number' over the next 12 months.  Start today! 

If you find it a struggle, then maybe OMY or even TMYs are right for you 🤷🏼‍♂️

If, in 12 months, you found it 'easy', maybe you will be more confident about taking that step.   Maybe markets will have steadied (although I firmly believe we will never have that perfect crystal ball, only an approximation, subject to change).
It's one small step for man, one giant leap for SCB 🤣

pensionpawn

marlot said:

Albermarle said:

It is very tempting to stay on for one more year as you get a year's extra savings and one year's less spending to worry about.

Or two more years , or even three .....

Although staying on longer than really necessary , is kind of frowned upon by some posters , it does mean you can maybe retire with a big cushion and not really have to worry too much about money at all .

I decided that it wasn't the number of years of retirement that I wanted to optimise, but rather the number of good-health years.

So I went at 55.

Spot on. 55 was too early for us however after last Friday's meeting where the grunts were told that we're responsible for correcting management's failures, 56 looks very likely!